Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Eva Reads Her First Word!

Yes, you read that correctly. Eva read her first word this evening (that I'm aware of anyway. She has a way of "yeah, I've done this FOREVER. What's the big deal" about her sometimes). We were reading stories before bed and I said "What's this word?" like I often do but she's never answered before. I point to each letter. "c. a. r.", she says. "Right!" I said, "what's that word say?" "CAR!" Oh my gosh. Yes, it DID say "car"! Holy cow!

Mind you, this exciting event hasn't come out of nowhere. She has always loved books and preferred looking at words over pictures (going way back to a few months old). During all the pre-preschool assessments and much to my annoyance, I had to prove it to a school official that she knew 18 letters just before she turned three. Eva has known all the letters for several months now and many letter sounds. She's been able to identify store names on the building and on top of receipts for a couple years now. We read to her. We point to the words as we read them. We have her read each letter in a word, going left to right. I've had a suspicion that she could read some words for awhile but have always explained it away.

Back in February of this year, I had a conference with Eva's preschool teacher. She told me that the woman who teaches the resource room came to the classroom for a visit one day (she doesn't usually work with the littlest kids) and she and the teacher got to talking about Eva and how she knows all her letters and really seems to absorb everything around her. Eva did a few tests in the resource room and, to everyone's joy, she scored at a kindergarten level for pre-reading skills! So the teachers started Eva on a reading program, the beginnings of which consist of matching like pictures, with other pictures as distraction. Then moving on to matching simple letter combinations, which gradually get more complex, to see if she can sort through the visual stimuli. The next step is a Reading Mastery Program with chunks of words (it stresses learning to identify the whole word, as opposed to spelling it out). So in addition to reading at home like we do, pointing out words, having her read the letters to us, we also started to label things in the house (bed, couch, table, etc.) so she could get used to seeing the words attached to things she's familiar with.

I am so grateful for wonderful teachers and staff who recognize that Eva can handle more challenges and not dismissing her desire to learn until she's "older".

What Eva taught me: to not think I know what she is capable of; to not think "oh, well that skill is for older kids, not her"; to set high standards and beam with pride when she meets them.

My little girl, 4 years, 2 months and 20 days read her first word. Car. It's music to my ears.

8 comments:

Gretchen said...

Wooo hooo!!! Go Eva (and go Kati and Jerry) You guys are awesome.

amy and mighty max said...

WOW! I am so thrilled for all of you and incredibly proud of Miss Eva! Truly amazing!

Darcy Walters said...

I don't know what to say, Kati! I too am so proud. Music to my ears, tears to my eyes. Your little girl adds so much to our lives. Thank you for sharing. Blessings all around.

Anonymous said...

OMFG! Wait--is that inappropriate for a blog about a little girl? I can't control myself. EEEEEEE!!!!!....wait...pretty soon you won't be able to spell things around her to keep her out of the loop. TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Syl said...

That's wonderful! Just wait 'til she's reading stuff she shouldn't be! :)

Sandi said...

Kati and Jerry and lil' miss Eva,

I have tears of joy in my eyes. I had to read this post twice. Oh my gosh, what an amazing accomplishment.

Eva you have taught me to set high standards. I just am so excited for you and the world that reading will open to you.

Oh my gosh, I'm so excited!!!!!

sunshine glynn said...

oh my goodness. I am amazed and overjoyed. WOW. I'm speechless. Eva, you are an amazing girl with the most fantastic parents!

Cadence and her family live in said...

I am remembering some foam letters for the bathtub that got heavy use at age 2........ or was it before that, even??
Wow!! So exciting. Lovely music, indeed.